A Kitchen Remodel Full of Fun, Function & An Island Inspired by a Pot

I've got a kitchen remodel bursting at the seams with function and personality that I've been excited to share with you all for awhile now. I was initially called out to this kitchen to simply re-design the island. At the time the homeowners were satisfied with the perimeter layout, but the island just felt really big and bulky in the space.

To begin, the island was multi-level which really cut down on the continuous counterspace and made the actual working space choppy. The limited continuous work space was especially an issue because the cooktop and a prep sink were located on the island making the space tight. In addition, the countertops themselves had a really thick edge detail which was pretty, but it made the already large island feel even bigger. We decided pretty fast the best solution would be to make the island all one level to help with the visual weight as well as increase the usable workspace.

With the design nailed down we started talking about the aesthetics and the homeowner showed me a picture of this pot.

I love how inspiration can come from literally ANYWHERE! She had seen this pot out and about and loved the overall vibe, particularly the depth of color and the wear that shown through in certain spots. This pot was her island color inspiration and I was 100% on board! I took the picture to our finishers at Bell Kitchen & Bath Studios and they played with several color combinations before nailing it with a custom mix of Benjamin Moore's Sylvan Mist CSP-740 + a Charcoal rub. 

About the time we had all of the details squared away for the island the homeowners talked and decided they wanted to go ahead and redo the whole kitchen. In general I think if you are able, remodeling an entire space all at one time is a way better idea then doing pieces here and there along the way. It allows your house and life to be uprooted once, even if it is for a few months, but once it's over you are done and your space as a whole is complete. We left all major mechanical components (refrigerator, sinks, etc...) in the same general vicinity, but did redesign certain elements to increase storage and functionality and of course add some custom layers of interest throughout the space. 

Let me show you around:

This is the view from the family room. The house is full of fun art and decor which pops so nicely off the neutral tones of the cabinetry. For the most part the perimeter cabinetry was done in alder wood with a dark stained finish and was taken to the ceiling. 

The island is the unexpected star of the show, full of personality and function! How great did the color turn out?

To layer in some additional visual interest we kept a portion of the perimeter cabinetry on the back wall off the ceiling to give this space more of a hutch look. By reducing the overall height and changing the finish (Benjamin Moore's  Smokey Taupe 983) this piece really looks more like a piece of furniture. I also designed a custom backsplash (remember this Instagram sneak peek from last year?) with antique mirror and then Construction Resources provided the most beautiful wood countertops to really finish off this piece. 

The two doors that come down to the counter are actually appliance garages to store items like the toaster, blender, etc...and the glass doors are the perfect place to display pretty glassware. 

The one big design change that we did make was the removal of a desk area that filled the entire corner next to the refrigerator. While the desk worked nicely as a landing pad for any and all organization, it took up valuable kitchen storage space. The desk was moved elsewhere and in its place we designed tall pantry storage. Not only did this up the functionality, but I think the towers visually flow better off the tall refrigerator cabinetry. 

The countertops are Perla Venata quartzite from Walker Zanger and were fabricated and installed by Construction Resources. They are truly stunning with their simple edge detail and beautiful movement. 

The floors were also redone and the best part? They are tiles, not wood which makes them much easier to upkeep. The tile is a 6" x 16" Vein Cut Travertine called Prado, also from Walker Zanger.

This was certainly a fun project to work on and the clients could not of been more open minded and cool. Does it get better than increased functionality and loads of personality layered into one kitchen remodel? Nahhhh, didn't think so.

All finished photography by Galina Coada

My Kitchen Part 2 - Countertops

As is often the case, you can only remain topless and classy so long. Cabinetry speaking of course....:)

Last we talked the cabinets had been installed and we were ready for our countertops to be templated. Weeks earlier, while we were finalizing the designs for our kitchen, we took a break and headed to Construction Resources for a little countertop shopping. 

Lord knows there are a lot of countertop options out there, from natural materials like granite and marble to man-made materials like quartz and solid surface and Construction Resources has them all.  We went in with an open mind, not overly committed to one type of countertop, only to the idea that the top we chose needed to aid in opening up our space and add an additional layer of interest to the room. As we walked the isles contemplating all of the options we found ourselves being drawn to the marble slabs. The white marble slabs.  GASP!!!! As most of you know, marble is a natural stone with a bad rap for being porous and staining. Being in the design industry I've heard the horror stories and I was aware of the cons associated with marble, especially white marble. But, even with allllll that knowledge we couldn't shake the fact that the white marble would look the best in our small space.  We knew the white marble would blend in nicely with the cabinet and wall color (Benjamin Moore's White Dove OC-17), but would add drama and depth through the veining.

We were torn. Pretty vs. Practical. What a beast of a dilemma. 

And then boom. A halo formed around the marble with a simple phone call from my sales rep. A 15 year warranty from DuPont was available that would protect the countertop from food and liquid stains. It was an additional cost, of course, but SO WORTH IT. So, we signed on the dotted line and a few days after the cabinets were installed they came out to template.  Then a week later this load of awesomeness arrived in my driveway....

It was literally like Christmas morning watching these bad boys make their way into my house. 

I held my breath as they lifted and maneuvered the heavy tops on and around the new cabinets. Yes, I was THAT client that was watching the whole process like a hawk. I was everywhere, snapping pictures acting like this was my first rodeo. But you know what, this is my first house, so I guess I have an excuse to be a little nutty and overly excited. 

I mean, does it honestly get prettier than this? The movement and colors in this top are insane. It's literally so beautiful and the guys from Construction Resources did such a great job lining up the seams so the veins flow with such a fluid movement. 

A few days after the tops were installed the guys came back out to apply DuPont's StoneTech sealer. 

DuPont's StoneTech Professional Warranty
Photo from Dupont's website. 

The literature that came with the product says, "The beauty of natural stone with true peace of mind." Doesn't that say it all? Like so many people, Brent and I really plan to (already are) use and entertain in our kitchen and we did not want to be haunted by the possibility of ruining our beautiful countertops on a daily basis. A coffee spill and a red wine drip will no longer haunt our dreams. This sealer offers us true enjoyment and usability in our space. 

Needless to say the addition of the countertops really took the room and the house to a whole new level of awesome and beautiful. But, what happened next and then what happened after that. WHOA, yeah it could make your heart stop. Stay tuned.....::evil laugh::

Unless otherwise noted all photos are my own.